Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Member, American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Member, Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis
Clinical Member, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Deborah Simmons is a marriage and family therapist who has been working with individuals, couples and families for 14 years. She works actively with adults to resolve a variety of concerns, including depression, anxiety, trauma, abuse, health problems, and relationship issues. To Dr. Simmons, therapy is about co-creating something new, something different, something better in our lives.  Often working in collaboration with physicians, nurses, and genetics counselors, she employs a variety of techniques in her work, including hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). She has found that the use of humor and improvisation is helpful in finding new solutions to life's challenges. 

Dr. Simmons specializes in reproductive concerns.  This includes fertility challenges, miscarriage, pregnancy complications, fetal anomalies, premature delivery, and stillbirth.  She often is sought out by women with post-partum depression and anxiety.  She consults to reproductive medicine clinics and OB-GYN clinics.  She has worked with fertility clinics and third party reproductive agencies around the country to provide assessments and testing of potential egg donors and gestational carriers.  She is a frequent speaker for the Midwest Region of RESOLVE.

Dr. Simmons is currently doing research on the development of premature babies over the age of four years old and their families.  To request a questionnaire, please contact Dr. Simmons at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Dr. Simmons has presented on preemie development for the March of Dimes of Kansas City and several Twin Cities early intervention programs.

Dr. Simmons is a principal partner of Partners in Healing of Minneapolis.  She received her PhD in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. Prior to working as a therapist, Dr. Simmons worked as a Congressional aide and lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and a health care policy analyst in St. Paul.  

She is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Minnesota Society of Clinical Hypnosis. She is also a member of RESOLVE and the American Fertility Association.